Prosecutor: Former Milford water manager tampered with samples

WORCESTER 
Testimony got under way Monday in the trial of Henry C. Papuga, former manager of Milford Water Co., on charges of tampering with water samples during a 2009 boil-water order and of making false statements about the samples.

Mr. Papuga, 62, was indicted last year on six counts of tampering with an environmental monitoring device or method and two counts of making false statements, allegations that date back to August 2009, when Milford's water supply tested positive for E. coli bacteria.

As manager of Milford Water Co., a private, for-profit company, Mr. Papuga was under pressure to get the boil-water order lifted, and he allegedly added chlorine to six drinking water samples to make it appear that the water was safe, according to prosecutors from the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley.

In her opening statement in the case, Assistant Attorney General Sara Farnum said the prosecution intended to produce evidence showing that the boil-water order was “a crisis” and “economic nightmare” for the water company and that Mr. Papuga deliberately tampered with water samples to make them appear clean in an effort to get the order lifted.

Ms. Farnum said the investigation that led to the charges showed that Mr. Papuga had the motive and opportunity to tamper with the samples, and it ruled out all other possible suspects.

“The defense is as straightforward and simple as it can possibly be — he didn't do it,” Mr. Papuga's lawyer, William H. Kettlewell, said in his opening statement. Mr. Kettlewell said there were no eyewitnesses or forensic evidence linking his client to the crimes.

He also said that monitoring of the water supply would have continued even if the samples in question had tested clean of bacteria.

Marielle Stone, section chief of the state Department of Environmental Protection's drinking water program, was the first witness called to the stand by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Licata.

Ms. Stone testified that public water systems in Massachusetts are responsible for monitoring and sampling their water supplies and for having samples analyzed at certified laboratories to ensure that the water meets acceptable standards.

Ms. Stone said the DEP was notified of a bacteria problem in the Milford water system on Aug. 8, 2009, and that E. coli had been detected. Ms. Stone said she advised Mr. Papuga later that day that the pollution problem would require a boil-water order after being told that “repeat” samples had been taken and had tested positive for total coliform bacteria.